Islamabad : The United Business Group (UBG) of FPCCI on Wednesday said banks are generating a good amount of deposits from Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and Fata but the local business community is being deprived of financing facility.

Commercial banks are exporting funds generated in Pakhtoonkhwa and Fata to other provinces which must be noticed as it is exploitation of the local business community, it said.

Commercial banks are getting 7.4 percent deposits from Pakhtoonkhwa while the ratio of loans is just 1.13 percent which is also hurting Pakistan’s trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries, said Haji Naseemur Rehman, a central leader of the UBG.

The stringent collateral requirements continue to disappoint business community and force them to opt for other means of transactions which is not only hurting agricultural and industrial expansion but also helping in the expansion of the black economy, he added.

He said that the tendency is also hurting businesses, jobs and revenue which must be stopped in the national interests while the inflexible account opening requirements should also be eased.

Naseemur Rehman who is also running for the slot of the president of FPCCI in the upcoming elections said that the performance of banks should not be judged on the ratio of deposits but on the ratio of loans advanced to the private sector of the same area.

Banks are not only hurting the economy but also responsible for the exodus of businesses to Punjab and Karachi while pushing away investment from the province, he said, adding that the central bank should not play the role of a silent spectator.